The divisive internet personality Andrew Tate said on Wednesday that there is no justice in Romania and that the case file against him in the criminal investigation for alleged human trafficking and rape is empty.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects have been detained by the police since December 29 pending an active criminal investigation on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, the accusations were denied.
On Thursday, a Romanian court extended the detention until February 27. Prosecutors say the Tate brothers recruited victims by seducing and tricking them into wanting a relationship or marriage.
The victim was then taken to a property on the outskirts of the capital Bucharest and through physical violence and mental intimidation was sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content for a social media site that generated large financial benefits, prosecutors said.
He also said Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer with US and British citizenship, raped one of his victims in March last year, which he denied.
“They know we didn’t do anything wrong,” Tate told reporters as he was brought in for further questioning by anti-organizational crime prosecutors, his first comments to the media since his arrest. “This file is completely empty. Of course it is unfair, unfortunately there is no justice in Romania.”
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are escorted by police outside the headquarters of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, January 10, 2023. Photo by Inquam/Octav Ganea via REUTERS
Asked if he had hurt women, Tate said: “Of course not.”
Earlier this month, Romanian authorities said they seized 18 million lei ($3.99 million) worth of goods and money, including cars and luxury properties as part of the investigation.
“There’s no evidence against me,” Tristan Tate told reporters on Wednesday. “The authorities wanted to steal my car and steal my money, so I went to jail.”
Prosecutors said the seizure was to prevent the assets from being hidden.
Tates “is confident in his defense, he is confident in the evidence he wants, he has given a detailed statement, he has cooperated (with the authorities),” lawyer Eugen Vidineac told reporters after the questioning.
“We believe the defense has begun.”
Andrew Tate gained notoriety for misogynistic comments that got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account was reinstated in November after Elon Musk acquired the social media network.
Source: Reuters
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